Meet the Family

One Part Love is a family business so you will often see many of the Baines' and their extended family in the bakery, delivering cakes and out selling at food markets and festivals.

Every one of our bakes has come out of our home kitchen, either passed down from Grandma Anne or Nanna, or worked on by Jess and her mum Sherryll.

Jess is both owner and head baker at One Part Love Bakery.

Having studied Law at the University of Southampton, she made the decision to leave her law career behind and enter the world of business, focusing on her passion for food.

I’ve always been the creative type. At school art was my favourite subject and looking back I probably should have done art at University but I lacked confidence and didn’t believe I could make a career of it. So instead I studied law where the only colours are black and white. After graduating, I fully believed I had left all form of imagination behind and the only thing I felt like I gained was a pair of glasses and some good friends. Yet, I think every law student has a moment where they think they can change the world or make a difference, and this desire seemed to stick with me. To me, this translated into a need to do more than a 9-5, to grow, create and be passionate about something again. I wanted to do something different and inspire others to do the same.

It was in this place I re-found my creativity and stepped out into the business world armed with my mum’s kitchen aid and a Delia Smith cook book.

Creativity became a daily ritual of being inspired by the people around me and the memories I have with them, by places I visit and experiences I have there, and the things I see in magazines and online. I am a very visual person, so finding things that I love and relate to has helped to fuel the creative process. Every member of my family has had some sort of impact on my final products, whether it is an original family recipe or their own creative addition.

I have been particularly inspired by Caroline Khoo who describes herself as a Dessert ‘Artist’ and that’s what baking is to me. It’s a self-expression of my creativity, my heart and love for life, and much like an artist, it’s the magical process of taking a few humble ingredients and transforming them into something great, something that satisfies the soul and brings happiness to those who see my work and taste it.

I am a late comer to baking and I am certainly not an expert, instead completely self-taught. I have learnt a lot from my mum and grandma, who are fantastic cooks, but it’s also been a process of trial and error. I have made buckets of mistakes and still do. My mum always says, ‘baking is a science, every ingredient must balance and complement each other’ and I agree of course, but it’s not rocket science! I strongly believe anything is possible if you try hard enough and One Part Love was born through patience, determination and a willingness to try.

I hope you enjoy what we produce and thank you very much for your support.